"Follow me."
With a sweep of her hand, Shen Yi turned and headed out of the classroom.
"The next assessment will not take place in the classroom."
More than thirty students quickly rose and followed behind Shen Yi.
The corridor was spacious and brightly lit. Soul lamps were embedded into the walls at regular intervals, their soft glow falling across the youthful yet spirited faces of the boys and girls.
"Virtual space..."
Walking among the crowd, Wang Dong'er softly mulled over those four words, a trace of confusion flashing through her pink-blue eyes.
The term felt entirely unfamiliar to her.
Although she had been born into the Clear Sky Sect and was doted on by top experts like Big Dad and Second Dad, she had consumed plenty of rare treasures and read plenty of cultivation manuals.
Still, this sort of thing that sounded so full of technological flair was something she had truly never heard of before.
"Big Dad and Second Dad really are something else."
Wang Dong'er curled her lips and quietly complained to herself.
"They never even told me what the outside world had developed into."
"Looks like they really are old fossils, unable to keep up with the times."
Even so, though she thought that inwardly, Wang Dong'er still maintained her proud expression.
Her hands rested in her pockets, her chin slightly raised, as though declaring, "What haven't I seen before?"
They called it virtual space, but it was probably just a lot of rooms, right? They would fight inside those rooms. After all... she had never seen it before and had no way of imagining what virtual space looked like, so she could only make a rough guess.
The group passed through the teaching building and arrived before a circular silver structure.
After Shen Yi swiped her card to verify her identity, the metal doors slowly slid apart to either side, revealing an excessively spacious circular hall within.
The hall floor was paved with an unknown silvery-white metal. A huge circular open space lay at its center, surrounded by rings of white patterns.
"Alright, everyone stop."
Shen Yi walked to the center of the hall and turned to face them.
"Now, let's take attendance."
Her gaze quickly swept across the entire class.
"Our class has a total of thirty-two students."
"Excluding Wu Siduo, Luo Guixing, Yang Nianxia, Xu Xiaoyan, and the newly appointed Huo Yuhao."
"Since these five students have already taken on committee positions in specialized technical fields, they do not need to participate in the upcoming free-for-all."
"That leaves twenty-seven people."
"Among these twenty-seven, we will select one class monitor and three vice class monitors."
At that point, Shen Yi paused. Her tone softened slightly as she asked in a coaxing manner.
"Of course, if anyone feels that their strength is insufficient or is afraid of getting hurt, you may choose to withdraw now."
"Does anyone wish to withdraw?"
The entire hall was silent.
Not one of the twenty-seven students stepped back even half a pace. Not even their gazes wavered in the slightest.
What a joke!
Those were Contribution Points!
Now that they had just learned Contribution Points were tickets into the Spirit Ascension Platform, a shortcut to becoming stronger, who would be foolish enough to give up now?
"Very good."
Seeing the desire burning in their eyes, Shen Yi nodded in satisfaction.
If anyone had truly backed down, Shen Yi would have had to wonder how they had passed the entrance examination.
"Since everyone is participating, let us begin."
Shen Yi pointed at the ground beneath their feet.
"Everyone, move outside the white circle on the floor."
The students obediently retreated, leaving the huge open area at the center clear.
Shen Yi alone walked to one of the hall's metal walls and reached out to perform several seemingly casual operations on it.
"Beep—"
A crisp electronic sound rang out.
Then, something that left everyone dumbfounded happened.
Complex dark-blue patterns suddenly lit up across the formerly mirror-smooth silver wall.
The light rapidly spread down the wall and across the floor.
"Clack, clack, clack—"
Accompanied by the low rumble of mechanical gears turning, the flat metal floor at the center of the hall slowly began to split apart! The ground flipped outward in all directions.
Immediately afterward, silvery-white oval metal pods slowly rose from beneath the floor.
These metal pods were about two meters long. Faint flowing light shimmered across their surfaces, and their upper halves were covered by transparent semicircular canopies.
"Whoa—!"
A wave of irrepressible gasps erupted from the crowd.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"That's so cool!"
"Is that a Soul Tool too? How have we never seen anything like it?"
In their understanding, Soul Tools were at most artillery platforms, ray guns, or storage devices.
Something on this enormous scale, with such intricate construction, that could even rise from underground, completely overturned their worldview!
Even Wang Dong'er, who had been pretending to remain composed, could not help opening her mouth slightly. Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock.
"Just how many good things is Shrek Academy hiding...?"
Shen Yi said with a light smile, "These are Virtual Pods. They can perfectly replicate your physical data, martial souls, and soul skills, allowing you to engage in actual combat within an absolutely safe virtual world."
"Here, you may fight without reservations and give it everything you have. If you die in the virtual space, you will be eliminated. Of course, you will still feel pain, so... don't get too curious."
"Alright, enough nonsense."
"I'll give you three minutes."
"During these three minutes, you must decide on your tactics."
"You can fight alone or form teams. Those who wish to cooperate should choose Virtual Pods that are close together."
"Remember, only the final four people can become class officers."
"The timer begins now!"
At Shen Yi's command, the previously quiet crowd instantly exploded into commotion.
Though it was called a free-for-all, everyone understood that in this kind of melee, fighting alone was absolutely the fastest way to die!
Unless one possessed the absolute strength to take on the entire group alone, finding reliable teammates was the right path!
"Quick! Who wants to team up with me? I'm an assault-type!"
"Looking for a team! I'm a support-type!"
For a time, cries for teammates and shouted invitations rose one after another.
Wang Dong'er remained where she was, unmoving.
She was proud, but she was not stupid.
Glancing at the students around her who were rapidly forming groups, she frowned slightly.
She had only just arrived and did not know anyone. Besides, she had acted a little too cold earlier. It seemed no one dared come ask her to team up?
Did she really have to take on the whole class by herself?
She was confident in her own strength, but even a fierce tiger could not withstand a pack of wolves. If everyone focused their attacks on her and eliminated her, wouldn't the class monitor position go down the drain?
Just as Wang Dong'er was hesitating over whether to take the initiative.
A petite figure made her way through the crowd and timidly stopped before her.
"Um..."
Wang Dong'er looked at the girl in front of her, who was slightly shorter than herself.
She was very cute, with long dark-green hair. She looked delicate and weak, like the sweet little sister next door.
"You are?"
Wang Dong'er raised an eyebrow.
"My name is Xiao Xiao."
Gathering her courage, the girl raised her head and looked at Wang Dong'er's strikingly heroic face.
"I... I want to team up with you. Is that okay?"
As though afraid Wang Dong'er would reject her, Xiao Xiao hurriedly gave her credentials, speaking at a rapid pace.
"My martial soul is the Nine Phoenix Flute. It's a mutated martial soul."
"And... I'm a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, a control-type."
"Two rings? Control-type?"
"Alright, you're in."
Wang Dong'er agreed readily.
"Great!"
Xiao Xiao let out a sigh of relief, a happy smile appearing on her face.
Just then, another figure approached.
This was also a girl, tall and slender, with neat purple hair.
She glanced at Xiao Xiao, then at Wang Dong'er. She seemed a little embarrassed, but she still spoke.
"My name is Xi Er."
"If you don't mind, could you add me too?"
Wang Dong'er looked at her and asked bluntly.
"Martial soul? Rank? What type of soul master are you?"
Since they were forming a team to fight for the class monitor position, they needed elites. She had no use for dead weight.
Xi Er pressed her lips together. She seemed somewhat reluctant to mention her martial soul, but she still said quietly.
"A scythe."
"Assault-type battle soul master."
A scythe?
Wang Dong'er froze for a moment. The name of that martial soul sounded rather ordinary, without much distinction. Still, Xi Er had come to ask her herself, so Wang Dong'er agreed. A three-versus-three situation would not leave them at too much of a disadvantage.
With her teammates confirmed, Wang Dong'er's mood immediately improved considerably.
She looked around, wanting to see how everyone else had organized their teams.
The moment she looked, her gaze froze.
Three boys stood beside a Virtual Pod not far away.
One of them was Tang Wulin, who gave her a faintly familiar feeling.
"Boss, don't worry!"
Another youth, Xie Xie, was currently grinning as he spoke to Tang Wulin.
"The three of us together will absolutely sweep the whole field!"
Xie Xie patted his chest, his voice so loud that he seemed determined to let the entire hall hear him.
"The class monitor position can only be yours, Boss!"
Tang Wulin smiled helplessly, just about to say something.
Suddenly, he felt a chilly gaze shoot toward him.
He instinctively turned his head and met Wang Dong'er's pink-blue eyes.
"The class monitor position can only be his?"
Wang Dong'er snorted inwardly.
"What arrogance!"
I'll take Xie Xie down first later!
At this moment, the three minutes were up.
"Time's up!"
Shen Yi's voice rang out precisely on cue.
"Everyone, enter the Virtual Pods immediately!"
The students did not dare delay and hurriedly found their positions.
Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and Xi Er chose three Virtual Pods right beside one another.
Looking at the pod doors filled with metallic texture, Wang Dong'er took a deep breath.
She stepped into the pod and lay down on its soft, comfortable lining.
"Buzz—"
As the translucent canopy slowly closed, the light and sounds of the outside world gradually faded away.
Before you continue